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The Papers of William A. Graham 273
of palaces than residences, for merchants and their families. At
first sight they are forbidding, but when you judge of them by
what you see when you enter them, they are very attractive, for
they evidence nothing but taste, splendor, wealth, elegance. These
factories form two sides of a square wh. fronts Canton river, &
wh. is the only green spot wh. they possess in the Celestial Em-pire.
This garden is adorned with every variety of flower, & here
the ladies resort every afternoon, for enjoyment of the fresh air,
& the exercise of walking along its sundry pathways. In the center
of this section is the English Church, in which Dr. Parker offi-ciates,
& I heard him read one of Dr. Sprague's sermons, for he has
no time to prepare sermons for the pulpit. He not only preaches,
but practices.
The Missionaries are principally connected with the Presby-terian
Church, & as yet they have met with but little apparent suc-cess.
It is true they have only to smite the rock, wh. has only
emitted sparks & fire, for God alone strikes it so as to put feeling
in it, & make these millions of hearts feel for themselves. They
need the Church's prayers, for they are few, & faint, Sc weak.
I've so much to write about my visit to Canton that I scarcely
know how & where to begin, for I saw so many strange things wh.
can more easily be seen than described so as to interest one who
has not yet been favored with the sight. Let me then say, that
when you have seen one Chinese town you have seen all, so far
as everything pertaining to the customs & the habits & the homes
of the Chinese is concerned, for they resemble the birds of the
forest in this particular, & no doubt will resemble them to the
end of time. But for one to visit China and not go up to Canton
would, in the estimation of foreigners, be guilty of an unpardon-able
sin, &, on this account, I had to go up to this Celestial City,
in order to see all that foreign eyes were allowed to behold, &
wh. I did, for I was on the go all the time, & never have I been
so travel-weary before. The public garden belonging to the Eng-lish
& American Merchants, on wh. the Stars and Stripes & the
banner of the Cross of St. George wave peacefully & triumphantly,
& long may they thus wave, the representatives of the two greatest
Nations on the face of the globe. This garden is about half as
large as the square in front of the White House, & is beautifully
& tastefully adorned with every tropical tree & flower. All the
English & American residences front this square, & this is the
extent of their unappropriated possessions, & at one side, the
river washes its banks. The climate of Canton is very like that of

The Papers of William A. Graham 273
of palaces than residences, for merchants and their families. At
first sight they are forbidding, but when you judge of them by
what you see when you enter them, they are very attractive, for
they evidence nothing but taste, splendor, wealth, elegance. These
factories form two sides of a square wh. fronts Canton river, &
wh. is the only green spot wh. they possess in the Celestial Em-pire.
This garden is adorned with every variety of flower, & here
the ladies resort every afternoon, for enjoyment of the fresh air,
& the exercise of walking along its sundry pathways. In the center
of this section is the English Church, in which Dr. Parker offi-ciates,
& I heard him read one of Dr. Sprague's sermons, for he has
no time to prepare sermons for the pulpit. He not only preaches,
but practices.
The Missionaries are principally connected with the Presby-terian
Church, & as yet they have met with but little apparent suc-cess.
It is true they have only to smite the rock, wh. has only
emitted sparks & fire, for God alone strikes it so as to put feeling
in it, & make these millions of hearts feel for themselves. They
need the Church's prayers, for they are few, & faint, Sc weak.
I've so much to write about my visit to Canton that I scarcely
know how & where to begin, for I saw so many strange things wh.
can more easily be seen than described so as to interest one who
has not yet been favored with the sight. Let me then say, that
when you have seen one Chinese town you have seen all, so far
as everything pertaining to the customs & the habits & the homes
of the Chinese is concerned, for they resemble the birds of the
forest in this particular, & no doubt will resemble them to the
end of time. But for one to visit China and not go up to Canton
would, in the estimation of foreigners, be guilty of an unpardon-able
sin, &, on this account, I had to go up to this Celestial City,
in order to see all that foreign eyes were allowed to behold, &
wh. I did, for I was on the go all the time, & never have I been
so travel-weary before. The public garden belonging to the Eng-lish
& American Merchants, on wh. the Stars and Stripes & the
banner of the Cross of St. George wave peacefully & triumphantly,
& long may they thus wave, the representatives of the two greatest
Nations on the face of the globe. This garden is about half as
large as the square in front of the White House, & is beautifully
& tastefully adorned with every tropical tree & flower. All the
English & American residences front this square, & this is the
extent of their unappropriated possessions, & at one side, the
river washes its banks. The climate of Canton is very like that of